Luke 15:11-32

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’  So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.  ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Reflection:

This passage shows us the Father’s heart, the anticipation of the younger son’s return, the pleading with the older son…all because He wants them to live ‘found’ in His blessing. There is the continuing theme of joy and celebration once someone comes back and repents. This passage is rich in the imagery of a father’s generous action and loving correction, in that he wants both sons to experience the fullness of living in his house.

Response:

Our Father in heaven loves us with a measure and in ways that we can never fully grasp or imagine. His grace and mercy are constant but are so awe-inspiring and surprising to us because we do not deserve it. In the end, there is nothing that we could have done to earn His love that He freely and abundantly gives. Let’s thank God today for His faithful love that opens our eyes so that we may return to Him and revel in all that we have in Him.

Luke 15:8-10

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Reflection:

In today’s passage, there is obvious sharing of joy and celebration from the woman in the passage who values all of her silver coins. We can also infer that things are on hold until the search and recovery is over and successful in finding the lost coin. This also shows true faithfulness and concern. Our Father also searches diligently and does not rest until He finds what is the most valuable to Him – us. Because we are valuable in the eyes of our Father, the search for the lost ones will go on, and for everyone that is ‘found’ we rejoice together with the angels in heaven.

Response:

Each of us has our own story of the relief and comfort that comes when we find anything that is valuable to us that we have once lost. We go through this experience even for the most mundane of things – how much more if we take part in God’s ‘search party’ to bring back souls to him? Let’s pray today for willing hearts to receive the Father’s heart to do whatever it takes in order to take an active part in His kingdom work.

Matt 18:12-14

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Luke 15:4-7

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Reflection:

Here we see the incredible celebration over repentance or turning from our lost ways and being found by God.  Why would God care about ‘one’ when ‘99’ are still with Him? These passages speak volumes of the love and care of a true shepherd in that all sheep are accounted for – no one is less than the other – and expressing this genuine joy once the lost one has been found.  We see the wonderful result of redemption in action as there is a reason to rejoice even when just one person is now united back with the Father.

Response:

Knowing what we have experienced and continue to receive from the loving hands of the Father, we can’t help but think that this could also be enjoyed and received by those who are not yet in the fold. As followers of Christ, we are compelled to share through our lives, so that others are drawn into the life that is found in Him. Let’s pray today that we will be truly generous with our lives, so that in the end there is rejoicing in God’s kingdom when the lost come back home to the Shepherd of us all.

Psalm 103:1-18

1 Praise the LORD, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The LORD works righteousness

and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

15 The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18 with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

Reflection:

This is the life of “being and living found in God.” In the images revealed in this passage, starting with the initial praises given to God from David, we see that the love and compassion of our Father as infinite and unchanging. Everything in the world, including us, is temporary, but He is the same right from the start and to all of eternity.  The care from our Creator is as gentle, as it is powerful.  This psalm paints a vivid picture of what it is like fully living as the children of our sovereign God.

Response:

This Psalm declares what living the Christian life is all about. Let’s read through this Psalm with passion and conviction, asking that our hearts would be willing to receive all that it declares. Let’s thank our Father in heaven for who He is and as we live out the calling we have been given, may every word of praise uttered from our mouths be reflected and resonate in our thoughts and our actions today.

Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹²and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Reflection

In this prayer we see Paul’s heart for the church unfold, summing up how we live as a called people. In every way we are to live lives worthy of the calling we received, lives that God really takes pleasure in: fruitful, in close relationship with God, strengthened by Him at every turn, and always full of joyful thanks and gratitude. God loves for us to live these kinds of lives and by His Spirit empowered us to do so. We were rescued, forgiven, and redeemed to live like this.

Responding to the Transmission

We are called to share in this inheritance. Let’s pray for our communities, campuses and missional groups this prayer that Paul prayed. May we grow up in this calling in every way according to God’s plans and purposes for us. Let’s grab hold of what God is doing in us and through us, His people.

Philippians 1:27-2:11 (NIV)

²⁷Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

^2:1Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

⁷ rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death —

even death on a cross!

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Reflection

When reading, some of us tend to skip over the preface and go straight to chapter 1. We might be so used to doing that, that we don’t even realize that a book has a preface. Something similar can happen when we try to live out the calling. We can get caught up in what we are doing that we ‘skip over Christ’, forgetting the reference point for living as a Christian. Not so with Paul. Encouragement for him is sharing in what Christ has done and is doing, and the only way to live is following his example. Christ has to remain the focus throughout, the ‘preface’ of a called people, or we are left only with good deeds and intentions. Here specifically it is the divine humility that Paul is focusing on. God’s people are to be united, sharing in Christ’s humility and service.

Responding to the Transmission

Just like Paul, let’s be led into worship today and caught up into who Christ is and what He has done. Read over the section describing Christ’s humility a few times. Allow the Spirit to give us this deep desire to imitate our Lord in every way and especially in His humility. May this increasingly become the mark of who we are as His people.

2 Peter 1:3-10 (NIV)

³His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,

Reflection

No doubt about it, growing up in the calling is hard work. Twice we read here about making ‘every effort’ along with a long list of qualities that we are to excel in. Living and growing in this calling is not something that just happens, something we do casually or even are passive about. But if we skip right to the list we miss out on the how and why. We might find ourselves just taking part in religious routines without any real power to grow. The passage, however, makes clear that power is Christ’s and that He gives us everything we need to live and grow. Empty routine becomes active participation in what Christ is doing in our lives and our communities. A people called are not so just by name, but by every living expression, reflecting the One who calls and empowers us.

Responding to the Transmission

We need real power to live and excel in the calling. The good news is that Christ has already given us everything we need. He calls and He empowers us to bring this calling to full expression in us. If there are things we do that have become dry routines, forgetting why we do them, or as we see qualities of our character that are not increasing in expression like Christ, let’s come to Christ with those areas. Let’s receive again why and how we live and grow. Let’s also pray for our communities that, empowered by the Spirit, we would continue to grow up into living this way together…for the sake of each other and for others to know God’s grace.

Ephesians 4:1-16 (NIV)

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Reflection

Time lapse videos enable us to see processes that would normally appear subtle to the human eye, such as snow storms or a flower blooming, and allow us to take a step back and see the big picture of how it all came to be. In this passage, Paul pictures Christ as the full-grown man and his church as the body of this full-grown man. However, the church is still in the process of growing up and being built up to the maturity and stature of Christ. Without time lapse, we might be stuck on the circumstances of the church at the current moment, forgetting what God has in store for the calling of his church. If we were to use time lapse to see the church, we would see the big picture in this passage. The aim of the church, what it is, how it works, and what we, the church, have received to do our amazing part. We are to be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. We are to keep unity of the Spirit and to attain unity because it is an ongoing process. We are to be equipped, fixing up the parts that are broken or lacking, and being fitted for God’s service. We are to be gifts that God gives to his people. With all this in store, can we see the big picture now? It is the church body that gives full expression of Christ and God’s plan for eternity.

Responding to the Transmission

We might be thinking about the next minute, the next day, the next week, the next year, but today let’s fast forward and look at God’s blueprint for eternity. Let’s pray that we would grow up and mature into how Christ has called us. Let’s pray for the humility, gentleness, patience, and love towards one another. Let’s pray that we would not be blown by the things of the present moment (struggles and difficulties) but be caught in the expressions of God’s love for each moment and plans for eternity.